ESPN’s College GameDay Host Chris Fowler Replaced

Rece Davis will take over

Rece Davis will take over hosting duties of the premier college football preview show, moving from his current gameday position of hosting the update show “College Football Live” and its late-night recap version “College Football Final” with Lou Holtz and Mark May. (Image for SpaceCoastDaily)

This fall, someone other than Chris Fowler will host ESPN’s “College Gameday” for the first time since 1990.

Rece Davis will take over hosting duties of the premier college football preview show, moving from his current gameday position of hosting the update show “College Football Live” and its late-night recap version “College Football Final” with Lou Holtz and Mark May.

This signals Fowler’s desire to focus on play-by-play during the fall. It will also mean less rigorous travel for Fowler; he and Herbstreit often have to fly to the GameDay location to the site of the primetime game after GameDay wraps at noon ET.

John Wildhack

“This agreement reflects our belief that Rece Davis is one of the very best in the industry,” said executive vice president of programming and production John Wildhack.

“He’s established himself as a versatile and polished pro. Chris Fowler was instrumental in building College GameDay into an award-winning and iconic program that transcends sports with its excellence, relevance and influence on the public discourse.”

“With Rece on board, we know College GameDay will remain the show of record for college football fans,” said Wildhack.

In addition to Davis’ departure from “College Football Final,” Lou Holtz previously announced that the 2014 season would be his last year on the program.

That leaves two open spots on that show, unless ESPN decides to reevaluate their approach to that slot, which is something that many college football fans who grew weary of the Holtz-May schtick might welcome.

Davis’ new role is laid out in a new contract he signed with the Worldwide Leader, which keeps him in Bristol through 2021.